"Freedom is when the people can speak, democracy is when the government listens." – Alastair Farrugia
In the increasingly noisy homestretch to the historic May 11 elections, we are incessantly inundated by nonstop propaganda speeches, zillions of pesos worth of television/radio and other advertisements from the barbaric hordes of political candidates nationwide seeking our votes. Politicians compete with each other for more mass media or entablado bombasts, debating, arguing and trying to express what they think should be done "for the greater good" of our republic. This writer’s question is – who among our politicos are really, sincerely and earnestly listening to the people?
In ancient China, a legendary emperor used to disguise himself as an ordinary person and secretly went out to mingle with the masses in order to hear their plight. The emperor wished to ascertain the true state of the nation – beyond the overly positive reports of his sycophant and corrupt eunuchs. This emperor knew the timeless lesson of history for truly great leaders: Their hearts should not be hardened by arrogance or blinded by pride. Truly great leaders must embody humility, integrity and learn to listen to the people.
Born to a family of US Midwest farmers in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, Sam first worked at the JC Penney department store in Iowa. When he settled in Bentonville, Arkansas, he operated franchise retail stores for 17 years before he opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas in ‘62. He built his business on the principle that there was money to be made from large-scale discount retail stores offering rock-bottom prices and good service in small-town America. Walton went on to set up stores on cheap, out-of-town sites. The hardworking, frugal and visionary entrepreneur Walton developed Wal-Mart into the world’s most phenomenal chain of massive, centrally controlled stores that were usually located in America’s heartland of small towns and rural areas.
Like the old Chinese sari-sari stores of the Philippines that humbly served the masses before the war, Wal-Mart stores were characterized by heavy discounting, smaller profit margins than usual coupled with higher-volume sales. Exemplifying the founder’s innate humility and his policy of listening to the average American’s most basic needs, Wal-Mart stores have the most courteous customer-oriented employees.
Wal-Mart became one of the most inspiring success stories in the history of American free enterprise. It was publicly listed in ‘70, and by ’91 was a multibillion-dollar business and America’s largest retailer. Walton officially retired as chief executive in ‘88 but continued active participation in the management of Wal-Mart. In ‘85, he was acclaimed as the wealthiest person in the United States.
Like many of Asia’s rags-to-riches immigrant taipans of early generations who exemplified old-fashioned Confucian values, parsimony was said to have been Sam Walton’s watchword. The tycoon claimed that JC Penney in person had showed him how to wrap packages using less string and paper. He saved up on dimes and quarters for telephone calls or soft drinks while out during his numerous store visits. He led a disciplined life and never stopped listening to the people.
In ‘92, then President George Bush presented a citation for the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the self-made billionaire, which stated: "An American original, Sam Walton embodies the entrepreneurial spirit and epitomizes the American Dream." In that same year, when Walton died of cancer, he was the wealthiest billionaire in the world. Today, this huge business empire – founded by a humble entrepreneur who knew how to listen to others – has expanded globally at an incredible speed and has 950,000 employees.
"Listening is an attitude of the heart, a genuine desire to be with another which both attracts and heals," said J. Isham. When will our so-called leaders in politics realize that the reason our republic is so weakened by incessant conflicts and bitter wars is the refusal and inability of these so-called leaders to humble themselves and to listen?
That is the dilemma of our republic today. Not enough of the so-called "leaders" in our Philippine society are willing to really pause and listen. Most of our best and brightest people have for generations been trained to debate and make eloquent speeches at the drop of a hat, but how many have been educated to keep silent, to humble themselves and to listen?
Unfortunately, many of our leaders have their attentions focused mainly on themselves, their agendas, their personal dreams, their boundless ambitions, their families, their competing self-interests, their overpowering and clashing egos. A lot of our leaders are so talented in arguing passionately and even shouting at each other.
They instinctively impose their ideas, their skewed sense of priorities, their warped moral values on the rest of the nation. There are many well-meaning political leaders who claim they have been listening to the people, that they are now busy shaking thousands of hands in the barrios and kissing babies in the boondocks throughout our archipelago.
Remember the wise words of the magician Merlin in Excalibur: "You’re not listening... well, your heart is not."